11:36 The Artist wins Oscar for Best Picture. We picked it, but were hoping for Tree of Life. Michael Dunaway said: First of all, while denying Michael Shannon and Jeff Nichols nominations in their categories is baffling, leaving Take Shelter off the Best Picture nominees is downright scandalous, especially given that Academy chose not to fill that 10th spot. Really? It’s ridiculous enough to argue that films like War Horse and Extremely Loud are more deserving of a nomination, but Take Shelter wasn’t even good enough to fill an empty spot? This decision will look even more ridiculous as the decades pass. As for Best Picture, it will come as no surprise that I’m foursquare behind The Tree of Life. Besides being my pick for Best Picture of the Year, it would be my pick for Best Picture of the Decade, and possibly more. No film since 2001: A Space Odyssey has dared more. And few films ever have been so fully realized or so beautiful. A treasure.

11:32 @michaeldunaway: Heartbreaking. When will Viola Davis have this shot again? Meryl has it every year.

11:30 @joshjackson: Meryl Streep wins Oscar for Best Actress. 17th time is also a charm.

11:29 Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady) wins Oscar for Best Actress. We picked Viola Davis. Michael Dunaway said: Barring a shocking upset, Davis should take home the statue, and she deserves it. A case could be made for Tilda Swinton’s chilling, mesmerizing turn in We Need to Talk About Kevin, but Davis is just as good, and it’s her year. It’s nice to see longtime hardworking actors finally get a shot at a lead, bring their A-game, knock it out of the park, and then be rewarded. What’s more inspiring?

11:22 @johncusack i think @robcorddry: will be nominated for hot tub time machine at some point in the future and past.

11:21 @wwtdd maybe one day gary oldman will be as good an actor as cuba gooding.

11:20 @joshjackson: Jean Dujardin wins Oscar for Best Actor, makes up for silent film by shouting.

11:18 Jean Dujardin wins Oscar for Best Actor. We picked it. Michael Dunaway said: Dujardin (who will likely beat Clooney by a nose) is ridiculously charming in The Artist, but I’m not sure charm should be enough to win an Oscar. Clooney and Oldman both painted brilliantly textured—and very different—portraits of middle-aged men in the face of increasing desperation. Better than any of them was a restrained, tortured Brad Pitt in The Tree of Life. But Michael Shannon topped them all in Take Shelter.

11:16 aswinn I just took an Ambien, which on second-thought was probably unnecessary given what I’ve sat through for these past three hours.

11:12 @michaeldunaway: “If I can see myself onscreen then I know I exist” (Gabourey Sidibe), in the saddest quote of the night

10:57 @braxtonpope unsurprised by michel’s directing win. i don’t agree with it, but he gave a charming speech and is keeping uggie’s ego in check.

10:56 @realjeffreyross If this ceremony goes on much longer they’ll have to cut to Christopher Plummer during the in memorium. #oscars

10:56 @normmacdonald Thank Martin Scorcese for not punching you in the face.

10:53 Michel Hazanavicius wins Oscar for Best Director. We picked it. Braxton Pope said: Whomever wins the DGA award almost always wins Best Director. This year, the honor went to Michael Hazanavicius and so it stands to reason he will claim the Oscar as well. But The Artist, an enchanting recollection of early cinema, feels like a trifle next to The Tree of Life, a challenging, brilliantly directed and visually realized masterpiece. The Academy was too artistically conservative to ever award Stanley Kubrick a Best Director award and I don’t imagine things have changed enough for Malick to get one.

10:47 @davidroark: Quote of the #oscars: “we’re just two swamp rats from Louisiana.”

10:45 The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore wins Oscar for Best Animated Short. We picked it. Jeremy Matthews said: In a year in which silent-film nostalgia rules, you have to suspect that The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, with its lovable Buster Keaton lookalike hero, will reign over the animated shorts. The moody western Wild Life is marvelous, but its painted, textured landscapes and oblique storytelling don’t suit the Academy. Pixar hasn’t won for 11 years, but its charming La Luna has a chance.

10:44 Saving Face wins Oscar for Best Documentary Short. We picked The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom. Jeremy Matthews said: This is a contest between two emotional powerhouses, Saving Face, about the prominence of acid attacks on women in Pakistan, and The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom, about the tsunami in Japan. Saving Face at first glance looks like the likely winner, but the more contemplative nature of Tsunami might give it the edge.

10:40 The Shore wins Oscar for Best Live Action Short. We picked Tuba Atlantic. Jeremy Matthews said: The quirky, Norwegian charm of Tuba Atlantic will edge out The Shore despite the charming but meandering Irish drama’s recognizable faces. That is, of course, assuming this category doesn’t go to young American city-dwelling hipsters for the third year in a row. If it does, “Time Freak” will win.

10:38 @michaeldunaway: Milla Jovovich looks more like a movie star than anyone yet

10:30 Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris) wins Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. We picked it. Sean Gandert said: The Academy is so enamored with Woody’s latest effort that they’ll be giving him the award as a sort of second-prize, since his movie is too trifling to get any of the really major awards. As charming as his movie may be, though, it’s not the best-written, with several foreign features featuring much deeper characters.

10:27 Alexander Payne (The Descendants) wins Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. We picked it. David Greenberg said: As a screenwriter myself and a screenwriting instructor who assigns stories to my students to adapt, this might be this year’s hardest category for me. Hugo was magical, Moneyball was staggeringly brilliant but, for me, The Descendants was so rich, complex, funny, heartbreaking, smart and beautiful. It got me and it gets my vote. Plus, Aaron Sorkin won this award last year; he does not need the repeat.

10:19 @joshjackson: 1/2 of Flight of the Conchords wins Oscar for Only Good Original Song in a Movie this year. #oscars

10:18 Bret McKenzie (“Man or Muppet”) wins Oscar for Best Original Song. We picked it. Sean Gandert said: Seriously, “Man or Muppet” is the only real contender in this anemic category. The next three best songs from the movie could also wipe the floor with “Real in Rio” or anything else written this year for a film.

10:14 The Artist wins Oscar for Best Original Score. Paste picked it. Sean Gandert said: John Williams’ double-nomination will split the vote for him, especially because neither movie is one of his better efforts. The Artist really calls attention to its music, so expect that to grab the Academy’s attention. However, Hugo features the most magical score on the category, not to mention one that does everything a score should do, being unobtrusive and adding to the picture as a whole.

10:12 @aahrealbonsters That Nick Nolte noise that Billy Crystal made is the sound of my brain when the President of the Academy comes out to speak.

10:10 @joshjackson: I’m so glad I can listen to this Academy suit instead of hearing the end of Octavia’s speech. #oscars

10:00 wins Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. We picked this one. Michael Dunaway said: My award would go to Joseph Gordon-Levitt for Hesher, but of course there was no way that performance would even be nominated. I am, however, quite surprised that Andy Serkis’ motion capture tour de force in Rise of the Planet of the Apes wasn’t recognized. Still, who won’t enjoy seeing Christopher Plummer accept this award, especially for such a peach of a performance?

9:56 Hugo wins Oscar for Best Visual Effects. Paste ballot: check.

9:50 jeffwmarker Following Twitter rather than watching the Oscars is like listening to a radio show. It’s more entertaining in my head than on TV. #Oscars

9:48 Rango wins Oscar for Best Animated Feature. We got this one right. Jeremy Matthews said: Each nominee has it’s charm, but nothing has more eager-to-please gumption than Rango. Filled with inventive visuals and references that will put movie lovers in heaven, it’s Gore Verbinski’s best film. Read the review by @joshjackson.

9:46 @scottEweinberg Nice to see Chris Rock shitting all over a hundred years of truly talented voice-over actors.

9:46 @joshjackson: Chris Rock on animation: “If you’re a black guy, you can play a donkey or a zebra.”

9:44 The Undefeated wins Oscar for best documentary. We got this one wrong. Michael Dunaway said: None of the Academy’s choices made it into our list of the Top 20 Documentaries of 2011, though Pina probably should have. There’s nothing wrong with any of the films nominated, and some of them are quite enjoyable and/or important, but none of them approach the grandeur and accomplishment of Nostalgia for the Light, Project Nim, Senna, General Orders No. 9, or the clearcut best documentary of the year, The Interrupters. We can only hope the winner gives Steve James a shoutout in his acceptance speech, since the Academy apparently won’t recognize him in any other way.

9:41 @bananegon Billy Crystal is ruining my game of “Guess how old that old actor guy is” #oscars

9:39 @michaeldunaway: All this “Go to the movies” propaganda is pretty hilarious coming from an Academy who watched all the nominees on screener DVDs.

9:32 @TheTweetOfGod When they have the “In Memoriam” section later, it should include every single one of Billy Crystal’s jokes.

9:29 @aahrealbonsters Maybe the sound editing winners can help out with this mic situation.

9:28 Hugo wins Oscar for Sound Mixing. 8-for-9. Sean Gandert said: This is one of those categories that the Academy is really in every way unqualified to judge. In some sense there’s a lot of randomness to what their selection will be, however since Hugo is the only one of these movies that will be winning awards, we’d put our money on it to pick up the win.

8:56 The Artist wins Oscar for costume design. Paste is 3-for-3 in predictions and starting to wish we had money on this. Sean Gandert said: A very period-driven category, especially this year. The Artist is showy and easily digestible, and the Academy will be happy to give the award to a period movie that still takes place in the 20th century.

8:52 @aahrealbonsters I’m sorry, when did we decide Twilight was in the same category as Forrest Gump and Titanic?

8:49 @braxtonpope somewhere between disinterested youth of franco and shopworn shtick of crystal is the perfect oscar host.